One Day Without Shoes is a day to bring global awareness to children’s health and education by going without shoes. 1.4 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day, and over 2 billion live on less than $2 a day. This is the definition of extreme poverty. Here is how that looks when we talk about people not having the. money to buy shoes:
– Not wearing shoes increases risk or hookworm. Hookworm is a soil- transmitted parasite that affects 740 million people worldwide.
– Long-term physical effects of not having shoes include stunted growth, decreased cognitive development, anemia and chronic fatigue.
– Studies show that children affected by hookworm are 20% less likely to go to school and earn 40% less in adult life.
Here is the solution: Prevention and treatment includes education, medication, improved hygiene and sanitation and protection from soil.
And here is why shoes: Giving Partners like IMA World Health give de-worming medication along with shoes to children, helping them stay healthy with a combination of prevention and treatment.
Today we want to remember the poor, specifically those who can’t afford shoes. What we are going to do, in good old Steps of Justice fashion is join with thousands of others and go a day without shoes. Will going without shoes really help anyone? No, but it will help us remember to pray and to act. Each step you take pray for those who have no shoes, and then at the end of the day donate a pair of shoes or purchase a pair of Toms, or do something for the homeless in your town or city. Going without shoes helps us remember and remembering helps us act.
So, from the time that you wake up tomorrow, to the time that you go to bed don’t put those shoes on. Outcomes may include:
- Not being allowed into certain stores or restaurants.
- People looking at you funny
- Walking on hot cervices or cold ones
- Your feet getting sore
- Your feet getting dirty
Thanks for going a day without shoes, post your responses and thoughts below or on the Facebook page.
Use hashtag #stepsofjustice when you Instagram your pictures.
